Future Crisis
by BlazingCard
Summary: In the familiar future, the world is at peace, without demons or magic. However, in the other distant future, the world is overrun by demons. One individual knows that the right future is free of such creatures, so he plans to fix it. Rated T
1. Prologue

Future Crisis: Chapter 1

A weird thing I noticed: what happened to all of the demons from the past? Do they just stop breeding at some point?

R&R!

* * *

This world is terrible.

Waking up from the meager sleep he could get out of his 14-hour work day, the young scientist quickly got up, shaking the folds and tears of his leather jacket and his jeans. The crumpled white nametag-sticker on the left side of his chest said "Akuhei" – a name that he gave himself for a reason he could not disclose. The mattress he laid on seemed to be in fairly decent condition, as long as no one saw the rip marks on the side. It also gave an audible grating sound as it slid over the floor.

Akuhei walked into the bathroom, which was once separated by walls. Now, only the remains of wall insulation were present. He opened the faucet and splashed water on his face. At least indoor plumbing worked. There was no measure of time in this country – all clocks were either lost or destroyed, and electricity was unavailable. The power in his house was drawn from a small, purple-colored crystal ball the size of a marble, in a secret vault underground. There was also a time display there, but Akuhei could not bother to walk down.

The living room was converted into his own workspace; equipment was scattered across the floor, along with strange weapons. Broken picture frames of his family hung on the walls, but most of them were charred. A prototype machine of some sort sat in the middle.

He stepped out of the house and onto wood, onto a balcony that was covered with sand. This was a daily ritual – it reminded him of his purpose to stay in this forsaken land and protect it, for the whole world was overrun by terrible creatures. Ruins of once tall-standing skyscrapers were eventually reduced to ashes. Akuhei was surprised to see any vegetation in the middle of the wasteland. Few houses were intact around him, and they held onto their lives on just one last hope: the fences surrounding the houses were covered with sheets of paper with words of spiritual meaning written on them – seals. Powerful monks who visited the area granted their protection to Akuhei and his neighbors, out of pity and desperation.

Outside this relatively safe zone, people constantly ran for their lives. They could not get far, however, because the land was surrounded by water. The country was an island, and few helicopters stopped by to check for survivors. Only occasionally lucky people and holy people who clung to the homeland were left. Besides, the pilots had better things to do than to be ripped apart. Akuhei's lab was a secret known to no one but himself.

This was Japan, 2018.

What did people run from? Demons. Or _youkai_, as they called them. These creatures were responsible for the destruction of human society around the world, after they first took over Japan. While people were constantly killed and eaten by _youkai_, there did exist safe zones – holy grounds – that housed refugees. The world population was reduced to 4.5 billion, or at least that was what people thought. Governments around the world that were still intact were stocking up on arms to defend themselves, but over the centuries _youkai_ were able to evolve to defend themselves from modern weaponry; they were utterly impervious to bullets.

Akuhei checked the meter on the machine in the living room. "21 minutes left," Akuhei said to himself. "21 minutes is all I need… until I can finally solve this mess." He believed that the world should not have been dominated by _youkai_ – in fact, _youkai_ should bear no influence to human life after the destruction of the Shikon no Tama. Akuhei firmly believed that there was a crucial turning point in history that ruined the world's timeline.

The machine whirred in his living room; these 21 minutes were the longest minutes he ever spent in his life. He stared at the small cylindrical tube as it glowed in red, then orange, then yellow, and so on, until all the colors of the spectrum were displayed. Finally, the tube grew black. "It is complete!" he thought to himself. "Finally, after nine years..."

Backlash energy blew him backwards into a wall. The tube radiated with chaos, and Akuhei heard terrible voices in the sky above him. The tube attracted _youkai_ nearby; the barriers constructed by the seals were quickly broken.

"So this is where you hid, human…" a creature stirred above him. Akuhei ejected the cylinder and placed it into a canister on his belt. He quickly grabbed a metal (but light) backpack that was attached to a much larger tube with a handle.

"Inferior beings are not to touch primal energy!" the _youkai_ exclaimed. With one swipe, the roof of the house was blown off. "Explain your treason against the empire!"

Akuhei was not fazed. "There are two ways to settle this," he said. "One, you can let me walk away scott-free. Two…" He linked a coiled tube from the big cylinder to the one on his belt. "I will completely annihilate all of you."

He looked up and saw a monstrous bird-like creature, with golden feathers and wings that blocked the sun. Its large beak was studded with sharp protrusions. Next to it was a similar bird reduced in size.

"What good could a human like you do? Did you understand how your pitiful resistance was broken?"

One bird dove down and attempted to eat Akuhei. He pointed the cylinder at the bird and pulled the trigger on the handle.

A gray beam engulfed the diving bird; immediately after, there was no trace of the demon.

"What magic is this?" the gold bird roared.

"This device is a _youki_-eraser," said Akuhei. "It uses the remnant energy of the Shikon no Tama to create literally tiny molecule-sized black holes that can only eat up _youki_ bit by bit. Of course, you won't live to remember this."

The bird flapped its wings; wind rushed through the openings of the house. "Damn you, human! I shall report to the emperor about this!" It changed heading and attempted to fly away.

Akuhei walked out to the balcony and took aim. "I don't need the emperor knowing about this," he said. His index finger pressed on the trigger; in a flash of gray light, the bird vanished into nothing. "Your energy will not be recycled. You have been turned into nothing. Matter is energy, and when _youkai_ are shot with the ray, they will disintegrate and be thrown into oblivion. This is the ultimate anti-_youkai_ weapon, as it will not affect any other matter.

"I will speak to the emperor himself," he thought. "And after that… I must begin to solve the root of the problem. I must erase Inuyasha, for he is the sole cause of this tragic future."

And with that, he pressed a button on his wrist. Rocket propellers appeared on his back, and he flew toward a red tower, seeking nothing but the death of a certain individual.


	2. Prologue ii

Future Crisis: Chapter 2

Akuhei's jet pack whirred as it came to a stop; he landed on a protruding platform of a red tower. The sky around it was occupied with a haze, along with many flying demons circling the tower. However, Akuhei didn't seem to be noticed by anyone.

"Intruder! Kill him!" Akuhei noticed two salamander-like humanoids standing in front of a door. He quickly activated his weapon, and a flash of gray light sent the two _youkai_ into oblivion. The barrel of the gun smoked as he powered it down. "I have to let it recharge itself soon," he said to himself. "I'll quickly deal with the emperor and get this over with."

He walked through the doors and came across an elevator. Akuhei pressed the button on the side of the door, and the lift gate opened. He quickly entered the small cubicle and closed the door. Grating sounds of demonic claws were heard from the other side of the door, as if the _youkai_ tried to pry it apart. Akuhei pressed the button that had a "court" character written on it. The elevator speedily zoomed up, and the arms of the creatures down below were crushed after tenaciously clinging onto the door.

When the elevator bell ringed and the door opened, Akuhei found himself in front of a long hallway with several doors on the side. He looked at his weapon. "This is what I worked for after all of these years," he thought. "If I die here, then I would have wasted the time and effort I spent on this cause. Now that'd really suck."

All of the doors opened and produced some sort of _youkai_. Given a perfect straight corridor, Akuhei turned on his machine and fired into the hallway; in a flash of gray light, only the clothes of the _youkai_ remained.

He quickly advanced to the room he shot at, which had two doors instead of one. Inside, there was a person sitting behind a desk on a big leather chair. He was almost taken to be human, had Akuhei not seen the tiny black wings that came out of the man's brown hair. He was dressed in traditional red robes and carried a lollipop in his mouth, while the two people who stood around him all wore familiar black-on-white suits with black ties, their hands behind their backs.

"You've been here for a little thirty minutes, human," the man said. "But you somehow shot up two hundred and fifty two floors. I presume you took the elevator?"

Akuhei didn't bother to talk; he quickly pointed his weapon at the seat.

"Y-you're majesty! That gun-" the emperor's left-hand man pointed at Akuhei.

The emperor sucked on the candy. He didn't look the least bit scared. "That's an interesting weapon you have there," he said. "Did you build it yourself? Where did you find the materials to construct that? I implore you; do give me a good story."

Akuhei fired at the emperor, but the demon quickly jumped out of his seat. The beam of light touched the arm of the man on the left, and the flesh disappeared. The man screamed in agony.

The emperor landed back on his chair. "Judging from what happened there," said the emperor, "that weapon somehow erases _youki_. Am I correct?"

Akuhei didn't stir. He restarted the weapon and aimed again.

"The first two thoughts on your mind are 'reload', and 'How on earth did he not choke?' am I right?" asked the emperor. "That's not good. We can settle this diplomatically, human." He suckled on his lollipop again.

"There's nothing you can talk about, _youkai_," said Akuhei. "Your kind deserves to rot."

"Insolent brat!" said the one on the right of the emperor. "You have quite a sharp tongue in front of his majesty."

"But we are logical," said the emperor. "Unlike you humans who act on impulse, we calculate everything. However, this is no way to start a proper conversation. Let me introduce myself."He got up and took a bow. "I am emperor Mizushima; of course, this is not my real name, but a name that I gave myself after devouring the fountain of youth hundreds of years ago. Every stone of the temple is in my body, and the fountain runs through my veins as we speak. I have not aged since then. You…" He looked at Akuhei's crumpled up name tag on his chest. "You are Akuhei? That's not a name that a mother would likely give her son. Did you choose it as well, to hide your real name?"

Akuhei gritted his teeth and tore off the name tag. "That's none of your business."

Mizushima bit off the tip of the lollipop and took out the stick. "But there is some significance in your real name, isn't there?"

"And what if there is?"

Mizushima's lollipop stick ended up in the trash can. He ordered his men to leave the room. "Well, if I say that I will try to kill you, will you give me your real name before you die? Just your surname will do."

Akuhei raised his weapon. "What the fuck are you? Fountain of youth? Do you think that I'm a kid? I won't tell you shit," he said.

"You will believe me," said Mizushima. "I guarantee you."

Akuhei pulled the trigger; Mizushima jumped out of the line of the gray light, but he did not protect his left arm. The gray light eradicated his fingers and half the palm of his hand.

"Now pay attention," said Mizushima. The holes that used to hold his fingers now began sprouting a clear liquid. "Water?" asked Akuhei.

"As I've said," said Mizushima, "the fountain of youth runs through my veins. My regeneration speed has been multiplied by a hundred fold." The water formed the shape of his hand, and flesh took on like wax in a mould.

"In theory, the flesh of demons is made up of _youki_. Your weapon erases _youki_, which in turn, erases my flesh. However, water from the fountain of youth can take my inner _youki_ and recreate new body parts. I've been living for almost 500 years; the _youki_ supply in my body is nearly endless now."

"No one cares," said Akuhei. He turned a dial on the barrel. The opening facing the enemy began to close up. Akuhei then fired eight shots in succession, but all of them were dodged by Mizushima.

"That's clever," said Mizushima. "You decreased the output of the beam to allow more attacks before you need to cool down. However-" He jumped in front of Akuhei. The two were face to face: Akuhei stared into the cold, purple eyes of Mizushima. "-You're still just a human. Your speed cannot even compare to mine."

Mizushima stabbed his hand into air; Akuhei had sidestepped to dodge the attack. He pulled the trigger, and gray light took away Mizushima's torso. The robes around his body closed in.

He winced and flew back to stand on the table. His eyes darted to a glass case on the wall, and quickly back at his attacker. "_That_ is not necessary at the moment."

Akuhei's gun finished cooling down. He took aim and fired again and again, but none of them reached their mark.

"Poor human! Are your eyes too slow? Let me put you out of your misery." He darted in front of Akuhei's face again, this time closing his fingers and prepared to stab Akuhei's heart.

With a reflex, Akuhei's index finger pulled the trigger, this time erasing any trace of Mizushima's left arm.

The demon emperor only smiled. "Physically attacking you is not very effective. But then again, I realized: humans are fragile. They cannot evolve to adopt natural defenses in a matter of years, unlike us. And you refuse to be 'civilized', so I can only do this." Water rushed from his neck to the rest of the body, puffing up the robes to contain his new flesh. He flexed his new arm as if to test it out. Mizushima opened the drawer and produced a pistol; he clicked it and pointed it at Akuhei.

"Checkmate."


	3. Prologue iii: End

Future Crisis: Chapter 3

"Checkmate."

Akuhei was at gunpoint. His own weapon was also pointing at his opponent, but he knew that his shot was much slower and he would probably die should he act rashly.

"Fire your weapon," said Mizushima. "Though it won't do you too much good. Look at yourself, human. Just the sight of this little toy is enough to make you tremble. Your race is a pretentious one," he said. "You insist on resistance, but in battle you all cower in fear. The only exception I can think of is the samurai, who you pretty much wiped out long ago. The last shred of honor in your race is nearly extinct. And here we are, having this conflict. Isn't it all pointless? Power down your weapon." He gestured with his gun downwards.

Akuhei released the handle of the weapon and turned the barrel knob; the barrel opening of the weapon closed up. Mizushima smiled and dropped his own gun.

"I sense the Shikon no Tama in the device on your waist," said Mizushima. "It's been centuries since I've seen the Shikon no Tama. You must have taken years to gather enough energy necessary to create a machine like this." These words made Akuhei tensed up. "Don't worry," said Mizushima. "Your effort will not be in vain. I will not alter your work in any way; but I will use it as I please." He opened his hand as if to beckon Akuhei to give the cylinder.

Instead, Akuhei spat on the hand. "Don't give me that crap," he said. He raised the barrel and reactivated the weapon, but Mizushima's face was suddenly an inch away from Akukei's. "Foolish human," he said.

Mizushima's hand grazed Akuhei's shoulder; ribbons of blood scattered out of it. "Your judgment is clouded," he said. "If you handed over the weapon, I would have let you leave here in peace. You can start a new life somewhere outside Japan, with my permission. But you chose to resist… so I have you die in a peaceful way." He picked up the pistol and pointed it at Akuhei. "Goodbye, Akuhei. There's always nirvana to look forward to."

He forgot that Akuhei's finger was still on his own trigger, and the much larger, much more dangerous gun (at least to _youkai_) was still activated. A beam of gray light suddenly erased Mizushima's trigger hand, and the gun bounced on the floor. Akuhei took this chance to set his machine at full power, and took aim to kill the emperor; however, the weapon sparked and malfunctioned.

Water flowed out of Mizushima's sleeve and formed a hand. "Too bad," he said. "You missed your chance. Now that you're disarmed, human, you're weak again. There's nothing stopping me from killing you." He picked up the pistol again and took aim.

"As you have realized, I can kill you without trying. You're an interesting human, Akuhei. The only other one that I've seen with a spirit like yours was a miko hundreds of years ago. That was the scariest time of my life – I wasn't even able to touch her. Without the power of the fountain of youth, I would have lost that fight. Yes, now that I think about it, there was also a _hanyou_ with her: the bastard Inuyasha. He prolonged the fight to an unimaginable length… six days, we fought. On the seventh day, I finally took his life."

Akuhei's eyes widened at the mention of Inuyasha's name. "Inuyasha? You met him in the past?"

"Yes, but I digress." Mizushima gripped the pistol more carefully. "Die now."

Mizushima finally pulled the trigger, and Akuhei was knocked back by the impact of the bullet that was shot. His finger slipped down on the dials of his machine, which reset the weapon. Mizushima looked down at the corpse of Akuhei, and pulled out a lollipop from his robes. He unwrapped it and stuck the tip into Akuhei's mouth.

"Enjoy the afterlife… human."

Mizushima saw the cylinder on Akuhei's belt. "I can use this later," he said to himself. He bent down and reached for the cylinder, but gray light took away his arm, along with all but his left arm and parts above his stomach.

He growled and flew backwards. The tiny wings on the top of his head started moving slightly, and Mizushima was floating. Water streamed throughout where his body was supposed to be, holding the robes up.

"A bulletproof vest?" said Mizushima.

Akuhei coughed and smiled cynically. He bit off the candy on the lollipop and threw away the stick. "Humans don't need to mutate to adapt," he said. He raised the barrel of his weapon. "And now, it's your turn to die."

Mizushima gritted his teeth. "You will regret this," he said. "Soon, the _youkai_ will devour this world. Even if you kill me now, there's nothing you can do to stop me from realizing my goals. This has been going on since hundreds of years ago. I will be the final piece of the puzzle: a martyr. Go ahead, human. Kill me."

"You're a joke," said Akuhei. "You didn't fight seriously because you couldn't, am I right? The miko who fought with you scarred you on the inside. That's why there's water always flowing inside you, preventing you from making any real movement. And as for your plan, there's another solution. The miko who wounded you will help me; so will the _hanyou_. All of you are responsible for this, and you all will die."

Mizushima's eyes widened. "How can she be still alive right now? She can't help you." A moment later, his face twitched.

"You know the Bone Eater's Well, then?" asked Akuhei.

"Impossible! I am sure that I destroyed it!" shouted Mizushima. The water in his body began to form the shapes of limbs.

"There's always a way to reconnect time," said Akuhei. He pulled the trigger, sending Mizushima into oblivion. His robes fell onto the table, and not a trace of Mizushima remained.

"Glad that's over with." Akuhei pulled the bullet out of his chest and smashed a window with his weapon. He jumped out and fell three stories before his jet pack activated.

"Here I come, Inuyasha." Akuhei faced his next destination and sped towards it. The people in the refugee camps below him looked at him in awe, as they could not believe that a man could fly out of the tower alive.

Akuhei eventually arrived at a run-down shrine with the sign "Higurashi". He navigated through the rubble and found the room of the Bone Eater's well. Akuhei pointed the gun into the well and pulled the trigger.

Back in the emperor's room, a droplet of water fell from the chandelier…

* * *

End of Prologue


	4. Ten Years Later in the Past

Future Crisis: Chapter 4

Reviews are appreciated!

* * *

"Hey everyone! The monk is going to exorcise the demons!"

Villagers shouted in rejoice as a man in a purple cloak approached the village shrine. He planted his staff into the ground and pulled out a stack of seals. "Show yourself, demon," he said. He fanned out the seals in his hand and threw them towards the walls; the seals stuck to the walls and sizzled.

"Are you ready, Inuyasha?" he asked.

"We've been doing this for thirteen years, Miroku" said Inuyasha. He wore red robes and had long, white hair. On top of his head were two dog ears. "If I ever die on the job, I'll give you Tetsaiga," he said.

Miroku chuckled. "I'll look forward to that day, then. But this one should be larger than the rest." And he was right: what came out of the shrine was a massive creature with red scales. It was almost shaped like a turtle, minus the shell.

"Still pathetic!" said Inuyasha. He drew his sword, and at first glance, it was a rusty old blade. However, it quickly enlarged into a sharp, wicked weapon that looked too big to be wieldable, but Inuyasha swung it like it was made of air.

"Go! Tetsaiga!" He shouted. His first cleave cracked open the demon's scales.

The creature roared and flung its tail at Inuyasha, who promptly blocked it with his sword. "Kaze no Kizu!" Inuyasha sweeped his sword like a fan, sending sharp tendrils of wind through the demon's body.

"Glad that's over with," said Inuyasha, who poked at the monster's head. "It was an eyesore to begin with." Tetsaiga's transformation disappeared, and he sheathed his sword.

"Well, you know the drill," said Miroku. He sighed. "It's time to collect payment."

"The monk has exorcised the _youkai_!" exclaimed the villagers. "We are saved!"

Inuyasha's face was buried in his palm. "I don't have the best feeling about this."

With his linguistic skills, the monk was able to fill his carriage with rice, vegetables, and treasure. "All in a day's work, Inuyasha. I'm surprised that, after ten years, you're still not used to the routine." Miroku drove the horses while Inuyasha walked barefoot on the ground.

In the relatively safe feudal Japan, Inuyasha and Miroku overcharged customers around the country for demon extermination, in order to make a living. After the death of Naraku, the number of threats to humans has drastically decreased.

"Humph, ten years of peace gets boring, you know. I kind of miss the days when you could be killed any second…" Inuyasha looked into the sky as he walked.

"Only you, Inuyasha," said Miroku. "But it is getting dark out. We should head back quickly."

Miroku looked around him. The path before him felt pure from evil energy, as it had been for years. Trees grew high up into the sky, and the mountains in the distance were beautiful and topped with snow. He could faintly see demons in the sky and in caves around him, but he knew that, after destroying Naraku, there was nothing that could daunt him.

The carriage shook, and a scroll rolled onto the ground. Inuyasha picked it up, and it opened by accident.

"What kind of junk did we get this time? The fountain of youth? Pfft." Inuyasha closed the scroll and threw it back onto the cart.

"The fountain of youth is an old legend," said Miroku. "In this day and age, anything can happen. For a story to survive for so long, who knows?"

"You're saying that the rubbish sprinkler is real?" Inuyasha inquired. "But a fountain of youth would be nice…"

"If you do survive long enough," said Miroku, "with the fountain's power, you would end up in Kagome's original world. Things will get complicated from there on."

"Bah! Forget about this," said Inuyasha.

"I know that you want to live longer, Inuyasha," said Miroku. "Hanyou don't benefit much from demonic longevity. And frankly, I want the fountain as well. I need to keep my facial features intact, you know."

"You are obviously forgetting about your wife and children," said Inuyasha.

Miroku opened his mouth to say something, but then he stopped. He started a new topic: "You said that the scroll described the fountain of youth, right? Where is the scroll now?"

"It's with the other stuff," said Inuyasha. "If you want to look at it, knock yourself out. It's got a weird drawing on it, though. There are a lot of smudges on it, as well."

Miroku stopped. "What? Drawing? Show it to me now."

Inuyasha hopped into the cargo and produced the scroll. "Don't know why you would want it, but alright." He handed the scroll to Miroku.

Beads of sweat rolled down Miroku's forehead as he read the scroll. "We… we can't sell this! This is a map to the fountain of youth!"

"Go home, Miroku," said Inuyasha.

"Yes, we must show it to the others! Tomorrow we will set off for the fountain! I can't believe that we found something like this in such a humble village!"

Humble? Inuyasha looked through their cargo. "That place was anything but humble," he said. "There's only valuables here."

Miroku ordered the horses to move, and he rolled up the scroll. "I don't think that I'll be getting any sleep tonight," he said.

Suddenly, a scream was heard from the direction of the sunset. "You're right about that," said Inuyasha. He jumped off the carriage and ran toward the voice.

Inuyasha saw a man on the ground, his shoulders pierced with two holes. He dug his fingers into them, and the man tensed up. What he pulled out was something that he could not comprehend. "What is this…?" he asked. The strange metal pellets between his fingers were soaked with blood.

"That… man… he raised some strange weapon," said the wounded. "He… he didn't even move! There were only two flashes. The sound was muzzled, too! It's almost as if he hid the noise of his weapon…" He screamed again.

"Don't move, you fool!" said Inuyasha. "You're losing too much blood!"

"Be… careful… he's got a much bigger weapon on him…"

A sharp wind zoomed past Inuyasha's ears and hair. He turned around and saw a hole sizzling in a tree.

"You've seen too much." A much younger voice spoke softly. "I guess I don't need the silencer anymore," he said. There was a click, followed by an audible "bang", and a metal pellet ended the life of the wounded man.

"Bastard! Show yourself!" shouted Inuyasha. He drew Tetsaiga, and it transformed into a great fang.

Miroku followed from the trees. "I heard the sound," he said. "That didn't sound human."

Inuyasha's nose twitched. "No, he's perfectly a human," he said. "It's that strange weapon."

The man stepped out of the bushes; his backpack rustled with the leaves. A big silver cylinder was holstered on his back, and a smaller one on his belt. Miroku looked at the later.

"That thing on his waist doesn't feel right," he said.

The man looked at Inuyasha. "You must be Inuyasha. I am Akuhei," he said.

"Kaze no Kizu!" Inuyasha swung his sword and summoned the cutting winds, but two jets of fire propelled Akuhei into the air from his backpack.

"He can fly!" exclaimed Miroku.

"Bastard!" Inuyasha raised his sword. "I'll rip you apart! Kaze no Kizu!"

As Inuyasha swung, Akuhei unloaded the cannon from his back and turned the dial on it. The opening of the barrel opened up, and he pointed it at the blades of wind, with Inuyasha behind it. He was unfazed by the threat of the Kaze no Kizu.

Akuhei's index finger touched the trigger. "Begone… Inuyasha."


	5. Human

Future Crisis: Chapter 5

* * *

Akuhei's gray beam of light burned through the cutting winds, calming the air around them. Inuyasha jumped out of the trajectory of the light, but his elbow was "burned".

"What is this?" said Inuyasha. He raised his arm to examine the impact area, but it seemed unscathed.

Akuhei was equally confused. "What? Why didn't it work?" He raised the barrel and prepared for another shot.

Inuyasha's eyes widened. "I know this feeling," he said. "My elbow… it's suddenly heavier than how it's supposed to be. It's also a lot warmer. That's an annoying weapon you got there, bastard," he said.

Akuhei pondered at the situation. "As a demon, your arm should have been vaporized," he said. "Why are you still intact?"

"Maybe you suck," said Inuyasha. He raised the Tetsaiga. "You seem to be completely human," he said. "So why can't I smell you? There's only a weird inhuman stench on you."

"The sense of smell of a dog is sharp," said Akuhei, "but the chemical sprayed over my body overpowers the natural musk. While you cannot find me, my radar will always locate you." He put down the weapon, and then he took out a pair of glasses and put them on.

"You think you can protect your eyes with two pieces of glass?" asked Inuyasha.

"Glasses aren't always meant for the improvement of eyesight," said Akuhei. "But even if you knew what they are for, you wouldn't know how my pair works." He clicked a button on the left frame and raised the barrel again. Two faint circles appeared on the left lens, making strange patterns. "This time, the probability of missing the next attack will be less than 15%." Akuhei raised the barrel again. The jet pack on his back hissed as he lowered his elevation. A _beep beep_ sound was heard, and Akuhei raised an eyebrow.

"I understand why this weapon does not produce the intended results," he said. "Inuyasha, you are a _hanyou_, am I correct?"

Inuyasha's blood boiled. "Shut up! It won't change the fact that I'll kill you! Kaze no Kizu!" Inuyasha swung the Tetsaiga, sending tendrils of wind at Akuhei.

Akuhei's jet pack struggled to keep him in place. "It's no use!" He pulled the trigger, dispelling the cutting winds and engulfed Inuyasha in the gray light. Inuyasha knelt down as Tetsaiga's transformation was cancelled, and he writhed in pain. His body clung to the floor, and his dog ears disappeared. His hands became gentler and smaller, and his hair turned black.

"What have you… done to me?" asked Inuyasha, but he knew the answer already.

Akuhei dashed in front of Inuyasha, but he was stopped by Miroku. "That's enough! Not another step!" he said. He raised the Buddhist staff.

"What can you do? Against my modern weapons, a human is nothing," said Akuhei. He drew a pistol and cocked it. "Remember this?"

Miroku gritted his teeth. He glanced at the dead man on the floor, blood flowing from his two wounds.

"What do you want with us?" asked Miroku.

"'Us' is the wrong word to use. I have no business with you. I only want Inuyasha, and I'm willing to kill a few extra demons as well," said Akuhei.

"You are from the other side of the well, is that correct? Why do you need to hide your scent from Inuyasha? Unless… have you two met before?"

Akuhei's eyebrows narrowed. "That's also none of your concern. Besides, our relationship has nothing to do with the situation at hand. Now, if you could step back, I have a _hanyou_ to kill."

A large creature pounced from the trees, carrying two women on its back. It was a cat-like animal, with fire around its paws. The creature hissed at Akuhei.

"Down, Kirara!" said the woman in the front. She was dressed in a casual kimono, but she carried a giant boomerang on her back.

"Inuyasha!" said the one in the back. Her top was white while her skirt was red, and she carried a bow and quiver of arrows. She covered her mouth, mortified at the sight of Inuyasha.

"Kagome! Get back!" said Inuyasha. He was kneeling on the floor, threatened at gunpoint by Akuhei.

"Sango! Be careful! This man has a weapon from the other world!" said Miroku.

Kagome's eyes widened when she saw Akuhei. "No way… that's a pistol! Those aren't even invented yet!"

Akuhei gritted his teeth. "Higurashi Kagome. Why did she have to come now," he muttered under his breath.

"This is impossible!" exclaimed Kagome. "The well closed off over a decade ago! How did you get here?"

"There is always a solution for those who deserve it," said Akuhei. He was about to pull the trigger, but Miroku wrestled with his arm, and the shot fired in a random direction. Birds flew out of the trees.

Kagome pointed at Akuhei's waist. "That tube… I feel… the Shikon no Tama!"

Sango drew her boomerang. "What? But the jewel vanished from the world!"

"You cannot possibly imagine what I have been through to find the source of this power!" said Akuhei. He shot Inuyasha again, but no bullets came out. "Damn it!"

"Hirai Kotsu!" Sango shouted as she threw the massive boomerang at Akuhei. The jetpack on his back whirred, and Akuhei took refuge in the sky.

Akuhei fumbled with his belt. "No more bullets. I didn't think that I would use up all of them," he said to himself. "This isn't the end! Soon, I'll find a way to kill you, Inuyasha!"

Sango caught her boomerang. "He's getting away!"

Miroku stopped Sango from throwing the bone again. "It's futile," he said. "The thing on his back probably gives him unimaginable speed." As he said this, Akuhei was long gone, replaced by a mere streak mark in the sky.

"How did Inuyasha get like this?" asked Kagome, who ran to Inuyasha.

Inuyasha pounded the ground. "Damn it! Damn, damn, damn! No!" Tears flowed down his cheeks. "I can't be human forever! I can't!"

"Calm down, Inuyasha," said Miroku. He picked up Tetsaiga. "Until we get the sense of the situation, you're going to endure this state. I'm sure that you can transform again somehow." He handed Inuyasha the sword. "That man said that he sprayed something on himself to mask his scent," he continued. "This could mean that Inuyasha might have already met him before."

"Who can he be?" asked Kagome. "I don't even remember where Inuyasha was back then, when he was in my era. It was so long ago."

"More importantly, you said that you felt the Shikon no Tama?"

Kagome shuddered. "I'm certain of it. It wasn't as complete, but at least parts of the Shikon no Tama was definitely in that cylinder."

"It seems to power his weapon," said Miroku. "That weapon is harmless in every way except one: it erases _youki_ completely. As you can see, Inuyasha lost his power after being hit by the blast."

Inuyasha stood up. "I'm going back to the village. This guy, Akuhei, will definitely be back. And next time, I'm going to take his head."

"In that condition?" asked Sango. "You saw his weapons. You're as vulnerable as the rest of us."

Inuyasha raised Tetsaiga. "We'll just have to try harder, then!"


End file.
